Upon this he put his shoulder to the beam and pulled until the sweat stood on his forehead. When the beam was right, he turned to the corporal, saying, “Mr. Corporal, when you have another such job and have not men enough, send for your commander-in-chief, and I shall gladly come to help you a second time.” The corporal was thunderstruck. It was Washington. _There Was a Fat Man of Bombay._ There was a fat man of Bombay, Who was smoking one sunshiny day, When a bird, called a snipe, Flew away with his pipe, Which vexed the fat man of Bombay. _Sing a Song of Sixpence._ Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie; When the pie was opened, The birds began to sing; Was not that a dainty dish To set before the king? The king was in the parlour Counting, out his money; The queen was in the kitchen, Eating bread and honey; The maid was in the garden, Hanging out the clothes; There came a little blackbird, And snipped off her nose. [Illustration] EPITAPH ON A FREE BUT TAME REDBREAST. These are not dewdrops, these are tears, And tears by Sally shed, For absent Robin, who she fears, With too much cause, is dead. One morn he came not to her hand As he was wont to come, And, on her finger perch’d, to stand Picking his breakfast crumb. Alarm’d, she called him, and perplex’d, She sought him, but in vain; That day he came not, nor the next, Nor ever came again. She therefore raised him here a tomb, Though where he fell, or how, None knows, so secret was his doom, Nor where he moulders now. Had half a score of coxcombs died In social Robin’s stead, Poor Sally’s tears had soon been dried Or haply never shed. But Bob was neither rudely bold Nor spiritlessly tame; Nor was, like theirs, his bosom cold, But always in a flame. —_William Cowper._ SLOTH MAKES ALL THINGS DIFFICULT. Sloth makes all things difficult; but Industry, all easy; and he that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him. —_Benjamin Franklin._ [Illustration] The year’s at the Spring, The day’s at the morn; Morning’s at seven; The hillside’s dew-pearled; The lark’s on the wing; The snail’s on the thorn; God’s in His heaven— All’s right with the world! —_Robert Browning._ _Humpty Dumpty._ [Illustration] Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; Threescore men and threescore more Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before. _Hot-Cross Buns!_